


Burns

by padfootagain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 18:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padfootagain/pseuds/padfootagain
Summary: You and Charlie obviously like each other. But as you learn to know him, you discover his profession and have to take some distance. How can you love a man who loves the creatures who have destroyed your life?





	Burns

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this!

It had been a rough day. Let’s be honest, it had been a rough week. Annoying clients, your uncle getting on your nerves, your rent to pay…

As you poured your next client a glass of firewhiskey, you reckoned that you would have needed a drink too.

You heaved a sigh as you turned to clean the bar next to you. You usually enjoyed working in this little pub, but this week was just too much trouble.

And there was one more thing that was pulling your mood down. Charlie had not come to the pub yet this week.

The truth was, you knew very little of the ginger man. You knew his name, you knew that he was English… you knew that he was kind and funny. He always had a smile for you, always a kind word, a funny remark that never failed to bring a smile upon your lips. And… let’s say that you were not indifferent to his smiling face stained with freckles, and his muscular silhouette…

You shook yourself out of your thoughts, paying attention to the dirty bar again. You wondered where Charlie could be. He used to come here every day. Perhaps he had taken a holiday and was back in England for a few days… you wondered why he had not told you he was leaving. But you only mocked yourself in response. You barely knew him after all, why  would he warn you?

Your thoughts kept on lingering upon the young man when the door opened, the little bell attached to the front door ringing.

When your eyes caught the sight of red hair, all your attention suddenly settled upon the man who was walking inside the pub…

A grin formed across your face when your gaze met Charlie’s.

He walked straight towards you, sitting on a stool at the bar.

“Hi, Charlie! A beer and a shot of firewhiskey, as usual?” you asked.

But this time he shook his head.

“Pumpkin juice would be perfect.”

You raised a surprised eyebrow.

“Are you trying to get wiser with age?” you teased him.

He laughed.

“No, but… I got hurt at work and I was advised not to mix up healing potions and alcohol. So for once, I’m following doctor’s orders.”

You frowned in worry.

“Are you okay?” you asked, concern painted all over your face.

“Yeah, nothing serious, don’t worry,” he reassured you.

“I was wondering why you were not coming here this week,” you added, understanding the reason of his absence.

He raised an eyebrow, his cheeks blushing despite his crooked smirk.

“Why? Missed me?”

You laughed, failing at refraining the blush to crawl up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Perhaps a bit,” you breathed, making eye-contact with him.

He blushed even more, but a grin simultaneously formed on his lips.

“Actually… that’s why I was coming here today,” he said, his tone softer, and his blush reaching the tip of his ears. “I…”

He shrugged.

“I reckon that… it’s no secret that I enjoy spending time with you,” he confessed, feeling himself starting to stutter, his heart rushing too much under his ribs to be controlled. “And… I was wondering if you… would… I mean… Would you like to have a dinner? With me?”

You couldn’t help but grin.

“Yeah… I… I’d love that,” you nodded shyly.

You exchanged a bright grin.

“I’ll come pick you up tonight then? Or tomorrow?”

“Tonight would be great.”

“Alright. I’ll come when you’re done with your work.”

“I finish very late…”

“I’ll wait.”

You exchanged another smile.

“I’ll see you tonight, then,” Charlie nodded, before walking towards the front door again.

An amused smile formed on your lips.

You had not even had time to give him his pumpkin juice…

—————————————————–

You were nervous. You felt like a teenage girl all over again, your palms wet and your heart rushing, spending an eternity to choose the right clothes…

What you didn’t know was that Charlie was doing the exact same thing a few streets away. He wasn’t used to be nervous. He was usually calm and had a tendency to meet every situation with a smile. And yet here he was, checking his image in the mirror one more time. He heaved a sigh, running a hand through his messy ginger hair.

He needed to relax… to take a deep breath and slow down this rushing heart of his. How could this little piece of muscle beat so fast anyway? Why was he reacting this way? But the answer was obvious, and he found himself a bit ridiculous for feeling this way, but he couldn’t help it.

He threw his leathery coat upon his shoulders, and walked out of his little flat, heading towards your home, right above the pub you worked in.

When you opened the door to discover his grin, your lips curved into a bright smile on their own accord.

“Hey,” he breathed, feeling his heart jumping against his ribcage at the sight of your graceful silhouette.

“Hey,” you replied with a warm smile.

“I hope you’re not too tired,” he said, trying to find a topic to start the conversation, but his mind was made too blank by your bright smile.

“I’m fine. It’s late, though. Where are you taking me for dinner? All restaurants in town must be closing by now.”

“Lucky for us that I haven’t planned on taking you to a restaurant then,” he smirked.

You raised an eyebrow, closing the door of your flat before following him downstairs.

“Where are we going then?” you asked as you walked into the street.

It was almost midnight, the stars above your heads were bright and shining like millions of diamonds dropped upon some dark velvet. The lampposts sent a yellowish light upon the deserted street, that night had emptied of any strangers passing by. It was late, but you didn’t feel much tired, the rush of your work still making your body warm and your mind sharp. The little breeze that blew across town, first sign of the coming Autumn, made you shiver though. You tightened your coat around you to protect your own warmth. You followed Charlie as he walked out of the little town you lived in. You frowned slightly as you walked through the thick night, and after a few minutes, you were starting to worry. As the night was too dark for the two of you to clearly see the path, you both lit up your wands.

“Charlie, where are we going?”

He could hear your hesitation, so he immediately turned towards you, a reassuring smile on his lips.

“Just a bit further, I know a nice place to have a view on the whole town and beyond. It’s just five minutes away.”

You nodded. He finally noticed that you were shivering, and it’s only then that you spotted the little bag he was carrying. He took a large and warm blanket out of it.

“Enjoying magic?” you teased.

You were met by a bright smile.

“Extensions Charms always come in handy.”

You laughed, letting him wrap the warm cover around you.

“So… now you think that you can teach me about nice places near _my_ hometown?” you teased as you let him guide you through the night, now climbing upon a little hill.

“I would never dare to pretend to know this town better than you do,” he laughed.

Your feet were slipping upon the cold grass, made slightly wet by the night, but you followed the young man before you anyway, your eyes unfocused on your steps and roaming down his body instead.

You took in the shape of his back, the lines still visible under the tight leathery jacket. Your eyes roamed up to his ginger hair, before climbing down the outlines of his large shoulders and down his muscular arms, before falling upon his large, calloused hands…

But you were brought back to reality as Charlie turned towards you, stopping his walk across the grass, a little smile crossing his freckled face that seemed carved by a rough weather. You guessed that his job made him spend lots of time outside…

“So? What about the view?” he asked, his smile turning into a smirk.

It’s only to the sound of his words that you were able to tear your concentration away from him to look at your surroundings. And you couldn’t help but gasp at the sight that met your eyes…

Indeed, the view was beautiful. Beyond your hometown and its little lights lost through the night, you also had a nice view on the mountains, their forms barely a ghost-like shape through the veil set by the shadows that surrounded you. You chuckled.

“I have to admit that I had never come to this place at night before,” you smiled. “And it _is_ a pretty sight.”

Charlie let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, and his answer came out in just an earnest whisper, his eyes fixed upon you.

“Yeah, that’s a pretty sight.”

You felt yourself blushing despite your will to keep a neutral expression, and a shy smile appeared on your lips.

“I was talking about the view.”

He smirked.

“Well, me too. Just not the same view apparently.”

You blushed again, before looking all around you.

“No restaurant though,” you teased again.

“No, no restaurant,” Charlie laughed.

He took another large cover out of his tiny bag, and invited you to sit down. He lit up a few candles that he sent floating around the two of you to chase the night away.

When he pulled out a picnic, you couldn’t refrain a grin.

“You’re pretty romantic, aren’t you?” you grinned. “I didn’t know this side of you.”

“Well… unless you want to eat in the dark…” he replied, glancing over the floating candles stuck in mid-air, a blush crossing his freckled cheeks.

“It’s much better this way though,” you nodded.

You started to eat, chatting happily, the space between the two of you sometimes filled with silence but you didn’t mind, it was a comfortable silence that pulled you closer to him instead of pushing you apart.

“But how did you come to work in that bar in the first place?” he asked after one of those short and comfortable silence.

“My brother owned the place. My uncle took care of the business afterwards, and now I give him a hand.”

Charlie frowned.

“Why did your brother stop working there?”

A sadness he had never seen before suddenly appeared in your eyes, and he immediately knew that he had asked the wrong question.

“You don’t have to answer if it makes you feel uncomfortable,” he added in a hurry.

You drank a gulp of red wine to summon the courage to let the painful words pass your lips, the pain coming back vividly through you, piercing your heart. The familiar feeling made tears climb up to your eyes.

“He died a couple of years ago.”

Your voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper that you forced to form and come out of your tightened throat, and Charlie winced at your answer.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

You gave him a reassuring smile.

“You have lots of siblings, don’t you?” you asked him, trying to guide the conversation towards another topic than your brother.

He laughed.

“Quite a lot indeed.”

“Is it why you’ve decided to work so far away from your hometown? To get away from so many annoying siblings?” you joked.

“No,” he laughed. “I love my family, I love coming home to see them.”

“Why did you move to Romania then?”

“Best place for my work,” he answered, before eating one of the little cookies he had brought.

“What do you do for a living? You haven’t even told me yet! Something dangerous I reckon, judging by what you told me earlier today.”

Charlie laughed.

“Yeah, sometimes it can be pretty dangerous. But it was my fault, I acted reckless. And dragons are not the kind of creatures you should be reckless with.”

You froze.

“You work with dragons?”

Your voice was just a shaking breath, and he felt you somehow… putting some distance between the two of you. You were pushing him away with just a glance, closing yourself to him all of a sudden.

“Yeah, I… I study dragons,” Charlie nodded.

“Why?”

Charlie shrugged.

“Dragons are wonderful creatures. They are wild but beautiful, and they are so mysterious…”

“But… they are so dangerous!”

“Yes, they are,” he nodded, shrugging again. “But not only. They can be very kind if they know that you will not hurt them. They are full of fear, but if you can overcome this fear, then you can create a real bond…”

“Charlie, dragons are dangerous and… violent and…”

“Not if you can earn their trust,” he explained.

“What about this wound of yours?”

He shrugged one more time, resting his hand on his left forearm without even noticing.

“I was reckless. I came too close too fast.”

You shook your head, feeling tears coming back to your eyes… You needed to get away, to run away from all these memories that started to come back to you.

“I’m starting to be very tired, Charlie, I’m sorry,” you lied.

“Oh… okay…”

You stood up, and he imitated you in a hurry, cleaning everything with just a switch of his wand, that turned out the floating candles and brought all his belongings back into his bag.

You walked back to town without a word, and this time the silence between the two of you acted like a gap that separated the two of you a bit more at every second…

“Good night, Charlie,” you breathed without a glance towards him as you reached the pub.

“Goodnight,” the man breathed. “Did…”

But before he could ask his question, you were walking back inside the house, leaving him before the door alone in the breeze that kept on getting colder and colder as the night flew by.

You watched him discreetly by the window as he turned around to leave, his large hands now buried inside the pockets of his worn-out jeans.

You grabbed the nearest chair, unable to remain standing, your legs shaking as your hand flew up to your mouth to muffle a sob. Tears were finally free to flow down your cheeks. You sat there in the empty pub for a while, the empty chairs surrounded you in the dark, the silence of the room only broken by the sound of your cries.

But it wasn’t Charlie’s fault, and you knew it. It was unfair to judge him because of his work, it was unfair to see the dead body of your brother in Charlie’s stead, it was unfair…

It was unfair, but how could you help being afraid that Charlie might know the same fate as your brother? How could you allow yourself to fall in love with someone who loved the creatures that had destroyed your life and that you blamed so much?

How could you love Charlie Weasley when dragons had killed your brother?


End file.
